His performance as Macrinus in Ridley Scott’sGladiator IIwas viewed as one of the sequel’s best components.
That ultimately did not happen.
TheOscars 2025 nominationscame and went without Denzel Washington’s name being called.
He was left out of Best Supporting Actor even after getting nominations earlier in the awards season.
This includes his new movie with Spike Lee.
Denzel secured four nominations during this stretch, winning half of them.
It’s been 23 years since Denzel Washington won an Oscar.
He received Best Actor nominations forFlight,Fences,Roman J. Israel, Esq., andThe Tragedy of Macbeth.
Those four nominations came in less than a decade.Gladiator IIwould have given Denzel five nominations in only 12 years.
That’s almost identical to the actor receiving his first five Oscar nominations in 14 years.
After all, onlyseven actors have three Oscar wins or more.
Now, it’s up to Spike Lee to help him.
Custom Image by Ana Nieves
The film isa remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 filmHigh & Low.
That positionsHighest 2 Lowestas the next movie Denzel Washington will be in.
That should be especially true when he’s working with a director like Spike Lee.
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The reality is thatmost of Spike Lee’s movies do not get Oscars recognition.
He even won an Oscar for his screenplay.
Otherwise,Do the Right Thinggot two Oscar nominations, but none of his other movies got recognition.
The other two are Adam Driver forBlacKkKlansmanand Danny Aiello forDo The Right Thing.
The kicker is that none of them have won.
The other factor againstHighest 2 Lowestcould be the specific genre.
This isn’t necessarily an Oscars-bait drama, although Spike Lee will surely infuse it with some social commentary.
He’s gotBlack Panther 3and two moreThe Equalizersequels in the works, as well as another historical epic.
If his retirement becomes more imminent followingHighest 2 Lowest’s release, that could helpDenzel Washingtonwin anOscaronce more.
